For Immediate Release Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Contact: Rachele Huennekens, (703) 470-2454
ReEnergize the Vote to Marshal Young Voters on 16 College Campuses on National Voter Registration Day
Major nonpartisan youth voter registration “blitz” spearheaded by Sierra Student Coalition to register thousands of new voters
On Tuesday, September 28, volunteers with ReEnergize the Vote, a non-partisan youth voter registration and mobilization campaign spearheaded by the Sierra Student Coalition, will fan out across sixteen college campuses to register thousands of young people to vote. The intense effort marks "National Voter Registration Day," when dozens of groups including the Sierra Student Coalition, (an arm of the Sierra Club), Vote Again 2010, and university student associations will join together to help young people demonstrate their power and change America for the better.
"There’s so much at stake for my generation in the upcoming elections," said Simone Rayford, a volunteer with the ReEnergize the Vote campaign at Texas Southern University. "I want to make sure that young people’s votes are counted and our voices are heard, like in 2008."
The ReEnergize the Vote and Sierra Student Coalition efforts are at the center of the movement to register and turnout young people to vote during this election cycle. Hundreds of young organizers and volunteers are mobilizing young voters in six states – Colorado, Texas, Oregon Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. In total, ReEnergize the Vote plans to register 32,000 young voters who either voted for the first time in 2008 or will vote for the first time in 2010; and to collect 58,000 “Pledges to Vote” from young people across the country.
"Every day, we’re talking to dozens of young people across the political spectrum who are concerned about issues like America’s energy policies and access to quality, affordable education," said Miller Nuttle, ReEnergize the Vote field organizer in Pittsburgh. "We’re working hard to remind them that voting is the first step to changing things in this country."
On Tuesday, ReEnergize the Vote organizers are holding a number of creative events on college campuses to engage and register young voters. Students at Ohio University will table at Art Show, while students at the University of Nevada, Reno will register voters at an Ice Cream Social, and Penn State students will conduct a 'dorm storm' canvass. In Houston, students at the HBCU Texas Southern University are partnering with the NAACP and student groups for an all-day 'Registration Party' with music and dancing.
ReEnergize the Vote is working also in coalition with a number of groups to ramp up youth excitement around the elections. On Tuesday in Ft. Collins, Colorado, ReEnergize the Vote volunteers at Colorado State University are collaborating with New Era Colorado, Rock the Vote, Sierra Student Coalition, CoPIRG, ASCSU, and Vote CSU for an all-day voter registration 'blitz.' At Portland Community College in Oregon, ReEenergize the Vote is collaborating with the student associations and the Bus Project for a voter registration BBQ cookout.
Throughout the fall, ReEnergize the Vote has been utilizing cutting-edge technology and innovative tactics to engage with young people on college campuses, urban neighborhoods, and online. In Portland, Oregon, ReEnergize the Vote has partnered with Voting for America to launch a ground-breaking program using Apple iPads to instantly register young voters. Nationwide, ReEnergize the Vote is using text message technology to send voting reminders and communicate with young voters.
Young voters are poised to have a major influence on the 2010 midterm elections, following record turnout of 22 million young voters in 2008. A bipartisan poll commissioned in mid-September by Rock the Vote found that 77 percent of the 44 million eligible voters aged 18-29 are very likely, or somewhat likely, to vote. The poll also found that more than 83% of young voters believe that they have the power to change things in this country, despite concerns about the slow pace of change in Washington.
For more information about ReEnergize the Vote, please visit: www.reenergizethevote.org
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